Friday, April 14, 2017

Foreign Object Friday: The Moondogs' bones

Follow my blog with BloglovinBy the time I became a full-fledged, all-in wrestling fan in 1983, the Moondogs were being used as enhancement talent in the WWF. But in 1981 Rex and King captured the WWWF Tag Team Championships with some help from their manager, Capt. Lou Albano and a trusty bone.

Bone to the neck
Courtesy: WWE

If you don't remember the Moondogs, look them up. Even though when I watched them in action they lost most of their matches, Rex and Spot were still an entertaining duo. The original incarnation of the team was Rex and King. On March 17, 1981, the duo beat Tony Garea and Rick Martel (long before his modeling days) for the gold. Martel was fighting with Albano on the apron when Moondog King blasted Gareawith the bone and allowed Rex to get the pin.

Rex & Spot
Courtesy: WWE

During the course of their run, King left the team. That's when Spot was added. The new Moondogs lost the tag team titles back to Garea and Martel later that summer. The 'dogs stuck around and put over other teams like Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda, The British Bulldogs and The Killer Bees. They continued to carry those big rawhide bones to the ring along with their mangy hair and tattered jeans. But they never dug up any more tag team gold.

Rex gets smashed...
Courtesy: WWE

Fun fact, Rex is the Superstar who came up with the idea for the team Demolition and actually played Smash first. But fans recognized him through the makeup and continued chanting Rex during the team's first few matches, so he was replaced with Barry Darsow.